A passport is a document issued by a national government which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identification and nationality of its holder. During the process of issuing a passport to a citizen, the identification details are collected, processed, and stored in the electronic form, but the passport is issued as a printed document as a booklet. If the passport is provided in electronic form, then the issuing authority can prepare a digital signature on the data content of the passport, and the relying parties or verifying authorities can verify the digital signature to prove the data integrity, authenticity, and validity of the issuer of the passport.
Since valid reasons exist for needing a passport in a printed form, there is a need to ensure the proper authentication of the issuer of the passport and the integrity of the data so that any data tampering can be detected with ease. A cost-effective and efficient solution is needed to bridge the gap between the electronic form and paper form and prove the data integrity and authenticity of a printed passport.